Garment units manufacturing ready-made school and corporate uniforms in Solapur have drawn up plans to achieve ₹1,000 crore in revenues in two years, said a top official.
“We can easily do ₹1,000 crore business in two years. We recently conducted a uniform and garments fair, which will fetch us additional business of ₹200-250 crore. We also received enquiries from international buyers based in Sudan, Iran, Iraq, Czech Republic and Kenya for ready-made school uniforms. Representatives from Sudan are interested in putting up a manufacturing unit in Solapur,” said Amit Kumar C. Jain, Joint Secretary, Sri Solapur Readymade Kapad Utpadak Sangh.
There are more than 1,000 garment units in Solapur employing more than 60,000 people. The units do annual business of ₹600-650 crore and boast a market share of 7% to 8%, he said.
The Indian ready-made uniform market size is pegged at ₹18,000 crore, of which the organised sector accounts for nearly ₹12,000 crore. Uniform-making units are scattered across seven to eight major cities such as Tiruppur, Kolkata, New Delhi, Mumbai, Indore and Ludhiana.
The Sangh is in the process of commissioning a training centre in Solapur within the next two weeks. Initially, it will train 200 stitchers and over two years, it aims to train at least 5,000 women stitchers.
Dubai-based Abco LLC, a full-fledged manufacturer, distributor and service provider of uniforms, safety gear and apparel, among others, has decided to downsize its purchase order for school uniforms from China due to low quality, said the company’s Purchase officer Imthiyaz Basheer Ahmed.
“We have initiated talks to procure uniforms from Solapur units. We are also planning to put up a 500-machine uniform manufacturing unit in Solapur. It will be done in association with local units. The investment would be about ₹25 crore,” he said.
“Though Solapur has a large number of units, it suffers from (lack of) connectivity. Overseas buyers skipped Solapur as they have to travel at least three hours from the nearest airport. We have urged the Centre to provide air connectivity, so that these units can thrive,” said Nilesh S. Shah, the Sangh’s vice-president. Mr. Jain said that efforts were on by the Maharashtra government to set up a ₹300 crore Garment Park in Solapur.
[Source:-TH]
